It's Time to Make History
by SarcasticDevotee
Summary: AU. Noah Hayden's destiny is about to change as he is moving to Muskoka to live at Wawanakwa Academy. He's about to become wrapped up in the personal lives of twenty others, get involved in a murder mystery, and become the turning point in a battle of mythological gods. This wasn't in his agenda. Contains Gwuncan, Jock, Zoke, and a Nizzy/Notie/Nourtney love shape. Updated weekdays.
1. Welcome to the Limousine

**Disclaimer: **I obviously don't own anything if I'm writing a fanfiction.

* * *

**Chapter One: **Welcome to the Limousine

* * *

Every night for a whole year, Noah Hayden had a recurring nightmare. It didn't change any night, and ended at the exact same place every single time.

He was in an ethereal world, with fog filling his entire vision. The only thing he could see was the silhouettes of fellow humans, with larger, floating humanoid bodies over their heads, fighting a massive monster in the fog.

If Noah looked up, he could see a humanoid creature above his own head. In this dream world, against his cynical and better judgment, he was helping fight off the imposing enemy.

The aforementioned enemy broke off into a loud, intimidating cackling spell, and exclaimed:

"I've played enough with you children for now! Now, for it to end!"

Noah watched as hands reached up from the ground and engulfed one of his supposed allies. Unfamiliar female screams came from the other human as she was dragged into the ground.

A taller, overweight silhouette let out a battle cry and ran off to fight the creature. Another set of hands rose from the ground and swallowed him up as well.

"Give in," the creature called again, "Give in and I will spare you endless despair."

A scream that Noah recognized as an anguished, "Never!", broke from another one of the figures as he made his way, angrily, at the figure. In his fury, he didn't stand a chance and was also swallowed up.

Only four of the figures, not including Noah, remained to fight the monster. Just like every time he had this dream, he was frozen in fear. Before he knew it, the hands had appeared under him.

Of course, he knew he wouldn't be swallowed next. That would be too much like right.

He was forcibly pushed out of the way by a feminine figure who took his place in the implied death.

A sharp pain of sorrow overtook Noah's body. He didn't seem to know the girl, but regardless, it was heartbreaking that she would sacrifice herself for him.

He watched as the remaining two allies stepped in front of him and also sacrificed themselves for him. For a person who was lazy, rude, sarcastic, and harsh.

Of course, with no one left but him to succumb to the fate, the arms finally came for him. He could hear a feminine voice from behind him scream his name as the dream ended.

Coincidentally, this was the last time he ever had that dream.

* * *

The next night, he had a completely different dream. There was no large, foreboding figures. There was no fog-clad allies. No, he found himself sitting in a limousine, sitting across from a boy his age with a toque and a green hue to him and a blonde haired girl with almost elven years.

He wasn't going to complain too much about this change of scenery.

"Welcome to the Velvet Room, eh," the almost green-skinned boy greeted, "Er, my name is Ezekiel, and it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, yo!"

Although, the annoying lingo would _have _to go.

"The Velvet Room?" Noah repeated, arching a brow, "Wow, my subconscious has a horrible naming ability."

"This isn't really your subconscious," the girl spoke up, politely, "This realm exists between dream and reality. Between mind and matter, if you will."

"Yeah!" the boy, Ezekiel, nodded, "Only those who are bound by a contract are able to enter here, eh? It might be that you'll be bound by one way soon!"

Yeah, Noah's dream was obviously screwing with him at this point. Or at least this is what his brain was screaming at him.

"Your aura states that you don't believe us," the girl frowned.

"What was your first guess?" Noah snarked, crossing his arms, before stopping and asking, "Okay, wait. Please tell me you didn't say aura."

The girl turned to Ezekiel and asked, "Are you sure he's supposed to be here?"

"I'm sure he's the one, eh!" Ezekiel nodded, turning back to the Indian smartmouth, "Now then, what's your name anyway?"

For now, Noah decided to play along, "Noah Hayden."

Not replying to the bookworm, Ezekiel waved his hands on the table that separated him and the girl from Noah. A deck of cards seemed to magically appear on the center of the table.

"Do you believe in fortune telling?" the boy asked the newcomer, "Each reading is done with the same cards, yo! Yet the outcome is always so different!"

"Number one, no, I don't," Noah scoffed, "And number two, fortune telling and tarot cards is fake. Everyone knows that."

Not listening to Noah's ranting, Ezekiel flipped over one of the cards and pointed to it. Noah looked at the strange boy like he had grown a second head before leaning over and looking at the card. It depicted a tower that had been struck by lightning, with the roman numeral "XVI" written on it.

"Huh," Ezekiel mused, "From what my assistant here has taught me, the Tower in the upright position represents the immediate future, eh! It seems like a terrible catastrophe is imminient."

"Like your fashion sense?" Noah deadpanned.

"Please listen," the girl kept a calm visage but her voice got darker in tone, "You wouldn't like to be thrown out of a limousine, would you?"

"It's a _dream_, honey," Noah rolled his eyes, "I'll be waking up any moment now."

"The card beyond that is..." Ezekiel ignored the two and flipped the next card over, "The Moon in the upright position. I... think it represents mystery? Very interesting, ain't it!"

"Yeah, _real _fascinating," Noah snarked, "Can I go now?"

"It seems you'll find a misfortune at your destination and a great mystery will be put on your shoulders, yo!" Ezekiel continued ignoring the guest, "Is it possible that you might be headed to a new town?"

Noah pursed his lips. He _was _moving to Muskoka, Ontario, to live at the prestigious Wawanakwa Academy. But of course, his dream could have easily included that aspect.

"That's where the contract comes in," the girl explained, "You'll return here then."

"Oh boy," Noah sarcastically twirled his fingers, "I can't wait for _that."_

"Look, this is the easiest way I can say this," the girl was finally tired of Noah's mouth, "This upcoming year is a turning point in your destiny. If this mystery goes unsolved, your future will be be forever lost. Our duty is to provide assistance to our guests to ensure that doesn't happen. Got it?"

Noah didn't say anything to that. If this was truly a dream, he would have woken up by now. Something about this limousine was strangely ethereal and the seat he was in felt oddly real.

"Oh, right!" Ezekiel spoke up, "I forgot to introduce Dawn, my assistant here to you!"

"So she _does_ have a name," Noah mused.

"We'll attend to the details some other time," Dawn spoke.

"Until then, farewell, eh!" Ezekiel exclaimed, smiling.

With that, Noah awoke.

* * *

_Monday, September, 7th, 2015. Labour Day._

* * *

Everyone who was anyone knew of Izzy Crown, one of the most popular teenage actresses. Noah had never especially been a fan of her work, but here he was, standing in a train station looking up at a large monitor that was playing her new commercial.

The wild redhead, sporting a green bikini, took a swig of an energy drink before spouting, "It might not be Izzy's homemade sap soda, but it sure does hit the spot!"

Noah, shifting the weight in his hand that was holding his suitcase, scoffed. He definitely didn't get the appeal of actresses.

Once the girl's commercial was over, the newscast he was watching came back on the overhead screen.

"And we're back," one of the newscasters began, "Now onto some juicy news, the Blaineley O'Halloran scandal."

Noah knew he had heard this before. A local newscaster in Muskoka had gotten in an affair with Josh King, an ex-newscaster, politician, and husband of a famous singer. It had been all over the news for the past week, and in all honesty, Noah was sick of hearing about it.

Thankfully, his train had arrived just on time.

The Indian-Canadian teen lumbered toward the train, got on board, took his place in a seat, and pulled out a novel. Not any novel of course; Noah was a fan of Shakespeare's works. This time, he was reading Hamlet.

As the train began to start moving, he closed his eyes and inhaled. He remembered exactly what his class said when they heard he was moving to Wawanakwa Academy.

"I'm sure that you all know already," he remembered his homeroom teacher saying, "but at the beginning of the new schoolyear, Noah will be transferring to another school."

He remembered all of his fellow students expressing their sadness that he was leaving.

What a bunch of fakers. He knew quite well that they really didn't care about him. He was just a smart-mouthed shrimp that they could force into doing their homework for them. It was nothing but a load of crock.

Besides, it wasn't his choice to enroll to Wawanakwa Academy. Now that Noah was the only one left out of his siblings in his family's home, his parents decided to move away and begin to retire. So, he was stuck with having to go _somewhere _to finish his last year of highschool.

He sighed, turning to face the train's window, before pulling his cellphone out of his pocket. He had missed a text sometime, which read, "Meet us outside Muskoka Station at 4PM."

The person who sent the message was going to be his roommate for the next year. From what he understood, his name was Mike Doran. He was a little confused as to why the text read, "us", but he disregarded it and put the phone back in his pocket.

He went back to reading Hamlet for a while, before frowning. He didn't forget his dream last night, nor the words that those two said. He believed their names were Ezekiel and Dawn? He knew it was just a dream, but their words lingered in his mind.

"_This upcoming year is a turning point in your destiny. If this mystery goes unsolved, your future will be be forever lost. Our duty is to provide assistance to our guests to ensure that doesn't happen."_

_Why is it bothering me so much?, _he asked himself.

* * *

"Josh King, a council secretary in Canada, is now under suspicion of having an affair," a newscaster announced, "What's more, his rumored mistress has been named Blaineley O'Halloran-"

"Mike," a red haired teenager with her hair in pigtails turned to her boyfriend, "Shouldn't we be heading out to pick up our roomie?"

Mike nodded, turning off the TV, "Yeah, we probably should. I... I'm not too sure I'm ready for this though, Zoey."

"We don't have to tell him right away," Zoey reassured, putting a hand on her boyfriend's shoulder.

"But what if _they _show themselves before we get a chance to?" Mike asked, frantically, "This'll be the third roommate we'll have lost in a year and-"

He was silenced by a kiss from the indie girl.

"I promise we'll make it work, Mike."

* * *

Noah stepped outside of Muskoka Station and looked around. Muskoka wasn't a very big city, so it was surprising that it even _had _a prestigious academy. In fact, the area almost looked like the boondocks than anything.

"Hey!" a voice called, "Noah, is it? Over here!"

Noah looked around, before noticing a tan, lanky boy and a slightly shorter, friendly looking girl. He walked over to them and sized them up once.

"So, you're Mike, right?" Noah asked, "Not quite what I envisioned you to be."

Mike gave a laugh, "Same to ya, Noah! Welcome to Muskoka, by the way!"

"Charmed," Noah's voice was half deadpan, half teasing, before asking, "Who's she?"

"This is my girlfriend and roommate, Zoey," Mike explained.

"It's nice to meet you, Noah!" Zoey extended her hand in greeting. Noah stared at it for a second before shaking it.

"Wait a second," Noah paused, "Roommate? I thought there was only two roommates to a dorm at the academy."

"Yeah, about that," Mike rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, "Dean McLean kinda... lied. We found that out the hard way last year."

"Great," Noah deadpanned, rolling his eyes.

"But don't worry!" Zoey chimed in, "You'll barely know we're there. I promise!"

"As long as you don't have too much public displays of affection, we'll be fine," Noah shrugged.

"No promises on that," Mike teased, "Well then, let's head to the Academy, shall we? My car's over there."

Noah nodded as Mike and Zoey started walking off to Mike's 2013 Jeep Wrangler. Noah was heading off behind them when he bumped into someone and dropped out of his bag.

"Um, hey!" the person he bumped into called, "You dropped this!"

Noah turned back around to see a skinny, tan girl with her hair pulled into two pigtails.

"You sure it's mine?" he asked, ready to get to the academy already.

"No, it's yours,"she shook her head, "I, like, saw you drop it."

He walked back over to the girl and took what was in her hand. It was his itinerary for the academy. He grumbled a thanks under his breath at the girl.

"Whatever," she shrugged, "I just picked it up." Without another word, she headed off in her own direction.

"Yo, Noah!" Mike called, "You coming?"

Noah watched the retreating girl walk away and turned back to Mike and Zoey who were already at Mike's car. He groaned. He never really liked walking and their car was further away than he expected.

"Yeah, yeah," he called back, "I'm coming."

Little did Noah know, his destiny in Muskoka was about to change. It wouldn't only change his life as he knew it, but would also change others's destinies. And not only that, but it would change the destiny of the world forever.

* * *

**This fic is a fusion fic of Total Drama and Persona 4. You don't have to know anything of Persona 4 to follow it and it will be taking a large change from that story's plotline anyway. This fic will be updated on Thursdays, but if I happen to get a chapter done before Thursday, it might get updated a little sooner. We'll see how this goes.**

**Let me know what you thought so far.**

**~Sarcasticdevotee**


	2. New Days

**Chapter Two: **New Days

* * *

The drive to the Academy was mostly in silence. Noah stared out the car window in the backseat, Mike nervously tapped his fingers on the steering wheel, and Zoey would every once in a while try to strike up conversation among the three, but to no avail.

Finally, Mike turned the vehicle onto the road toward a gas station. Noah looked up, but didn't say anything.

"Heheh, anyone need to the use the restroom before we get to the academy?" Mike asked, grinning a gap-toothed grin.

"I could, I guess," Zoey shrugged, opening the door to the passenger side. She stepped outside and made her way over to the restroom. Noah and Mike stepped out too, as a chubby gas station attendant ran up to both of them.

"Are you taking a trip?" the attendant asked, flashing a friendly smile to the two.

"Nah," Mike shook his head, "The three of us are headed back to Wawanakwa Academy."

"Oh, I see," the attendant mused, nodding her head toward the two.

"Oh!" Mike remembered, "Can you fill up my car while you're at it? Er, regular."

"Where are you headed?" Noah asked a retreating Mike.

"I'll be back, Noah!" the lanky teen replied, "I promise!"

Noah sighed, as Mike continued to retreat. He was left alone with the gas station attendant who was pumping gas into Mike's car.

"Does it surprise you to see how little there is out here?" the attendant asked, laughing slightly.

"Not really," Noah shrugged, "I came from a pretty small town myself. I _am _surprised that a gas attendant's filling up the gas. Pretty swanky."

The attendant laughed again, "Oh, not really. We just try to keep this place somewhat different, since you'll most likely end up bored of this place in a few days."

"Bored?" Noah asked, before sarcastically adding, "How ever could I get bored of living in the middle of nowhere?"

To his surprise, she didn't get upset, "Like, I understand you. There's so little to do out here, it'll probably drive you totally crazy. Hopefully you'll make friends here, because that or a part-time job's the only thing interesting about this town. I mean, we're in the district municipality of Muskoka but our town doesn't even have a name. So we kinda like to call this town Muskoka's Hills."

"How... great," Noah didn't even try to mask his disappointment.

"Oh, speaking of which," the attendant remembered, "we're actually looking for part-time help right now." She extended her hand out to Noah's to shake it.

Noah shrugged, shaking her hand, "I'll think about it."

"Good to hear," the attendant replied, "Well, the car's full so I better go back to work." Without another word or even giving Noah her name, the attendant went off to attend to another car.

As the girl walked off, Noah rubbed his temples. All of a sudden, a headache struck him. He felt like he was going to throw up a bit too.

"Hey, are you okay?"

The voice of Zoey made him look up. He sarcastically muttered, "Yeah, _peachy."_

"Did you get carsick?" she asked, feeling sorry for him, "Because I totally can feel you on that."

"What's wrong?" Mike asked, as he walked back over to his girlfriend and new roommate, "You alright, Noah?"

"I'm just tired," Noah tried to reassure, but his pained, sarcastic tone still lignered.

"Well, that's understandable," Zoey mused, touching her rosy-red lips with her index finger, "You did come by train and all. You're probably exhausted."

"Hey, why don't you take a little walk and get some fresh air?" Mike suggested.

"Are you two going to make out if I do?" a smirk crossed Noah's lips. Mike and Zoey flashed red, which answered Noah's question for him.

"Fine," he finally agreed, "I'll take a walk. Might as well try to get used to this town after all."

"Yeah," Zoey smiled, "Just let us know when you're ready to go, alright?"

Noah gave a dismissive nod and decided to walk the shopping district of Muskoka's Hills. However, the first person he noticed when he left the gas station was the same tan skinned, pig-haired girl that he met back at the train station. She noticed him as well and gave him an odd look, but before he knew it, she was already gone. All the better, he believed, as they probably wouldn't even meet again after that.

To his unsurprise, not much was in the shopping district. He noted a bookstore, what seemed to be a blacksmith shop, a vegan restaurant, and a grocery store. He noticed that there was another street for the shopping district, but decided to give it a try another time.

Although, walking all the way back to Mike and Zoey would definitely be a pain.

* * *

Mike unlocked the door to the three's dorm room, as they finally arrived to Wawanakwa Academy. As it was still Labour Day, the office was closed so Noah couldn't see any of the workers until the first day of school the next day.

Mike and Zoey's dorm room was pretty small, especially since it would be quarters for three people. The living room and kitchen was combined into a small area with a refrigerator, stove, and television set. Zoey had set up a tarp on the floor with cushions on it for a makeshift table. Three rooms were down the corridor of the dorm; one for Mike, one for Zoey, and one, presumably, for Noah.

Before Noah could make a mad dash for his room, Mike took his suitcase and Zoey took out a bottle of coke from the fridge, pouring it into some glasses.

Unfortunately for Noah, they obviously had to celebrate their new roommate.

"You don't have to be so happy about a roommate," Noah reminded, as Mike guided him down onto one of the pillows, "Lonely, much?"

"Of course we do!" Zoey replied, smiling, "We're roomies now, so we might as well become friends!"

Noah opened and closed his mouth. He almost wanted to snark at them over that, but at the same time, they seemed to have truly good intentions. Maybe they wouldn't be too bad to live with for the next year.

"All right, let's have a toast!" Mike exclaimed, raising his glass, "To roomies!"

"To roomies!" Zoey added, raising her glass as well.

Noah joined in with a much less enthusiastic, "To roommates."

After the three took a nice swig of their cokes, Mike brought up, "So, your parents moved out of the country, right?"

Noah pursed his lips, "Yeah. Like I care."

Zoey put a hand on her new roommates shoulder, "Hey, I know it's only for a year to be stuck in a city that you've never known? That's pretty rough."

"But it's just me and Zo in this dorm so it'll be nice having someone like you around!" Mike chimed in, grinning, "As long as you're here, you're a friend, so make yourself comfortable, man!"

Noah couldn't help but smirk at Mike's infectuous grin, "Yeah, whatever. I'll do just that."

"Good," Mike replied, "Well, anyway, let's-"

A ding resonated from Mike's pockets. He frowned, before pulling out his cellphone.

"Who's texting you at this hour?" Zoey asked, curiously.

Mike read the text message over once and his frown deepened. He gave a knowing look over at Zoey, who also began to frown.

"I'll be back later, okay?" Mike asked, "It's, uh, urgent!"

"It's like nine at night," Noah wondered, "What's so important?"

But of course, Mike didn't answer. He was already on his way out of the dorm room.

"Mike, I think it started raining when we got in here!" Zoey called, "Be careful!"

"I will, Zo!" he called back, "Thanks!"

With the sound of Mike shutting the door, Noah and Zoey were left alone in the cramped dorm. Neither of them said anything to begin with. Zoey instead grabbed the remote and turned on the television.

"Next, let's take a look at the hourly breakdown of tomorrow's weather," the meteorologist on TV said, "With storm clouds moving in from the west, expect rain throughout the day tomorrow in most areas."

The weather report droned on as Noah and Zoey continued to drink their sodas in silence. Noah, against his better judgment, finally decided to break the silence.

"What do you guys do around here for fun?" he asked, "Well, besides cuddle or whatever couples do."

Zoey laughed a bit, "Well, outside of classwork, there's clubs around the academy. Oh, and part-time jobs and just hanging out with people."

"Like who?" Noah asked.

"Well, honestly," Zoey bit her lip, "Mike and I don't have many friends outside of each other."

That shut Noah up really quickly.

"And now for the evening news," the newscaster on TV continued, "City council secretary Josh King is under fire for an alleged relationship with a female reporter. His wife, blues singer Josephine Bennet, revealed to this station that she will likely pursue damages. In response, Muskoka 4 News has decded to cancel all of announcer Blaineley O'Halloran's televised appearances. Until allegations of an affair with Mr. King are resolved, she'll remain off the air and out of the public eye."

"This is boring," Zoey almost groaned, "They've been talking about this for a whole week."

"Tell me about it, honey," Noah deadpanned with a smirk, "Just impeach the secretary and get it over with."

"Exactly!" Zoey agreed, as she changed the channel, "There's a lot of more important things to talk about on the news anyway."

"Really?" Noah asked, "Because all I hear on the news is a bunch of depressing crap."

Zoey shrugged, "I said there _is _a lot more important things. Not that they actually report on them."

Before Noah could respond, a commercial on the TV belted out, "At the Stopartment, every day is Customer Appreciation Day. Come see for yourself and get in touch with our products!"

"What kind of horrible name for a mall is Stopartment?" Noah wondered aloud.

"Every day's great at the Stopartment!" the commercial jingle played, which Zoey sang along to.

Noah stared at Zoey like she grew a new head.

"What?" she asked, "Haven't you ever sang along to commercial jingles before?"

"Maybe a commercial jingle that's not annoying," he muttered under his breath.

The rest of that night went on in silence. It wasn't long that Noah had excused himself and went to his room to hit the hay.

His dream was more than a little frightening, however.

* * *

**This chapter was mostly beginning the bonds between Noah, Mike, and Zoey, but the next chapter will begin to unravel the plot threads and introduce more characters from the series into the plotline as the first day of school begins.**

**Until next time!**


	3. The Borderline of Madness

**Chapter Three: **The Borderline of Madness

* * *

Noah's dream began with him being lost on a foggy road. When he looked down, he could see a red brick road underneath his feet. He knew his mind was screaming for him not to, but his feet began to walk forward. No one or no thing seemed to be on the road he was walking down.

Suddenly, he heard a voice.

"Do you seek the truth?"

He stopped and looked around before asking, "Who's there?!"

No answer.

His feet began to walk him forward on their own again, even though he was mentally protesting for them not to. A deep fear began to root inside of his chest.

Once again, he heard the voice. It sounded distorted. Almost monstrous.

It sounded like the voice in his dream where everyone sacrificed their lives for him.

"If it's truth you desire, come and find me."

"Who are you?!" Noah shouted again, "I'm not searching for any truth!"

The voice came from up ahead. As much as he didn't want to, he once again found himself walking up ahead to meet the voice. All he found at the end of the road was a red and black striped door.

"No, I don't want this," he muttered to himself, but his hand didn't listen as it began to turn the knob, "Hey, hand! Are you even listening to me?!"

Great. He was arguing with himself.

As the door opened, his vision was filled with light, before fog began to settle in its place. He walked forward, and met a figure hiding in the fog. The next thing he knew, a sword was grasped in his hands.

"So you were the one who was pursuing me," the mysterious figure spoke.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Noah shouted.

"Well, then," the figure ignored him, "Try all you like."

Without even thinking, Noah ran up to the figure and swung his sword, slashing it once. The figure didn't flinch or even try to dodge.

"Hm," the figure mused, "It seems that you can see a little, despite the fog."

"Shut up!" Noah screamed, as his body made him strike the figure once more. Once more the figure seemed not even phased.

"I see," the figure mused, "How interesting..."

"Are you even listening to me?!" Noah yelled again, before striking the figure once more.

"You will not catch me so easily," the figure didn't even seem to be listening to the now enraged teenager.

"What are you?!" Noah demanded, fear beginning to overtake his anger.

It continued, "If what you seek is truth, then your search will be even harder."

The figure began to glow red, as more fog was released from the figure's body into the area. By now, Noah couldn't even see a thing. He swung his sword once more at the being, but this time, the attack didn't connect.

"Everyone sees what they want to," the being cryptically said, "And the fog only thickens."

Noah dropped his sword. Fear had finally overtaken him. He felt like he was on the brink of insanity at this point.

"Will we meet again?" the figure asked, "Some place other than here? Yes. I look forward to it."

With that, Noah woke up.

* * *

_Tuesday, September 8th, 2015. First day of school._

* * *

Noah awoke to Zoey's call of breakfast being ready. He never thought that he'd already be thankful for his roommates this early. He got dressed and made his way into the living room and kitchen mix. To his surprise, eggs, bacon, and toast were sitting on a paper plate with his name on it. He sat down next to Zoey and noticed that Mike was nowhere to be seen.

"Good morning," Zoey greeted, "Sleep well?"

"If by sleeping well you mean having a horrible nightmare, then yes," Noah grumbled and yawned.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Zoey frowned.

Noah arched an eyebrow at the hipster, "Uh. It was a nightmare. Why are you sorry?"

"Well, I know how sucky nightmares can be," she explained, "So, hey. I understand."

Noah shrugged, and took a bite of his toast, "Where's Mike?"

"Oh, Svet- er, he went out for a morning run," Zoey explained, taking a bite of her eggs, "He does it every morning."

"Svet?" Noah asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Say, how about we walk to classes together?" Zoey asked, "Sound good?"

"Okay, but what's Svet?" Noah wasn't going to give up this easily.

"It was just a slip of the tongue!" Zoey defended, "Now, let's finish up and head to class, alright?"

He didn't press the situation any more.

* * *

"You keep going straight from here to get to your classroom," Zoey explained, as the two stopped in one of the hallways of Wawanakwa Academy, "My classroom's the other way."

"So we're not in the same class?" Noah asked, "What about Mike?"

"He's in my class, too," Zoey explained, "So, we probably won't see each other until after school. That cool?"

"Well, it'll have to be," Noah shrugged, "I can't really help that, now can I?"

"Not really," Zoey didn't seem to catch onto his sarcasm, "See you later!" And with that, she ran the opposite direction toward her class.

Noah rolled his eyes. His roommates meant well, but they were definitely way too happy for his tastes. He spun on his heels and began to saunter down the hall towards his own class.

"Gosh, Duncan, you look beat."

Noah noticed a red-haired geek talking to a punk with a green mohawk. The punk seemed extremely tired to say the least. The punk gave the geek an annoyed glare.

"Because you snored the entire night, Harold," Duncan growled at his roommate, "How the hell am I gonna sleep through that hurricane you call snoring?"

"I don't snore that- Ow!" Duncan had shoved Harold over and made his way toward the classroom that Noah was heading for. Noah looked at the downed geek, but shrugged and continued to walk. None of his concern.

Besides, this was the beginning of his last year of highschool. The only person Noah believed he had to be concerned about was himself.

* * *

Inside the classroom, students were all chatting and talking away as they were waiting for their homeroom teacher to come in.

"Talk about bad luck," a black-haired student with a guitar groaned, "Since our homeroom teacher got fired last minute, Dean McLean's gonna teach instead, isn't he?"

"Yeah, you're right, Trent," a brunette with a gap-toothed grin rubbed his arm sheepishly, "It's McLean alright. We get to enjoy his sadistic personality for all of our senior year..."

"There's one thing dat's good 'bout it, though," a girl with a fake tan and a Jersey accent chimed in, "I heard dat 'dere's gonna be a transfer student or somethin'."

"Really?" Trent asked, curiously, "A guy or a girl?"

"Do I look like I know?" the Jersey girl scoffed, and went back to spraying her hair.

The musician's ex-girlfriend, a goth named Gwen, and her best friend Courtney, the class president, looked at each other in surprise.

"Huh," Gwen mused, "A new student, huh? That's new. Just like you last year, huh, Duncan?"

Courtney frowned as Gwen turned back to talk to Courtney's own ex-boyfriend, Duncan. Ever since Courtney and Duncan broke up, the three's friendship had started to be strained, especially since Courtney believed Duncan liked Gwen.

When Duncan didn't answer, Gwen nudged him, "Hey, you okay? You look dead today."

"Doris snored all night," Duncan groaned, "I thought I was used to it by now, but... Augh."

Gwen turned back to Courtney and shrugged, "Whatever."

Courtney just rolled her eyes and turned back in her seat, as she saw Chris McLean and the new student walk into the classroom.

"Yo, students!" the dean, and substitute teacher, exclaimed, "How is everyone doing?"

A bunch of collective groans met his ears. He chuckled, "Perfect! As you all know, I'm the dean of this school, the fantastic Chris McLean. And from today on, I'll be your homeroom teacher! Ya dig?"

More collective groans. Noah could understand the sentiment there.

"Oh, come on!" Chris chuckled, "Be more excited than that! You could've had Hatchet as your teacher, now couldn't ya?"

"We probably would have preferred it," Courtney spoke up, crossing her arms.

Chris shrugged, "Eh, whatevs. It's the first day, so I won't be hard on you kids. _Yet_. Anyway, here's your new student! He's got some pretty high scores, so you might wanna cheat off of him. Well, probably not, because you could get expelled, but hey! That's more news press for me! This is Noah Hayden!"

"Aren't you just the most _charming _person ever?" Noah snarked, rolling his eyes.

The room went silent. Chris looked mad to begin with, but put on a fake smile, "How about you go ahead and sit down, _Noah? _Just because you're smart, doesn't mean I won't expell your ass, got it?"

"Uh, Chris?" Gwen raised her hand, "As much as I'd _hate_ to interrupt you, there's an open seat by me."

Chris scoffed, "Yeah, yeah. Go on and sit down, Noah."

Noah took this chance to make it over to his seat next to the goth girl, giving her a thankful nod as he did so.

Gwen leaned over and whispered, "Trust me, his bark is bigger than his bite."

"And his ego seems even bigger than that," Noah whispered back.

Gwen stifled a laugh, "Yeah, that's about it. But hey, we're graduating this year. We won't have to worry about him too long."

"A year too long, in my books," Noah rolled his eyes.

"Yo, I can hear you, y'know!" Chris yelled, before taking a sip of his coffee, "_I'm _the teacher, so all eyes should be on _me_!"

Noah just knew this school year would most likely be the longest he's ever endured.

* * *

"Alright, kids, you can head to your next class!" Chris announced as he finished talking, "Normal lecture or whatever teachers do will begin tomorrow, capiche? You're dismissed!"

Before anyone could get up from their desks, the school intercom went off. A feminine voice spoke, "Attention, all faculty personnel. Please report immediately to the faculty office for a brief staff meeting. All students must return to their classrooms and are not to leave the school until further notice."

Chris groaned. He obviously had somewhere else he wanted to go. "Yeah, yeah, you heard it. Stay put and talk or whatever, got it?" With that, the teacher left the room, grumbling.

By this point, it was a class-wide consensus that Chris was the worst substitute teacher ever. Then again, it was odd that the dean of the entire academy would take up the position.

Noah stayed seated and pulled out his book on Hamlet, deciding to read to pass the time. It wasn't long until he heard sirens, however, and put the book down on his desk. He watched as students flocked to the windows to see where the police sirens were coming from.

"Dude, did something happen?" a tall male in a red tracksuit asked, "I've never heard sirens in this town _this _early, man."

"Like I can tell, Tyler" an athletic girl with black hair and a mole svoffed, "This damn fog makes it hard to see _anything_!"

"Yeah, like everytime it's rained recently, it's gotten all foggy," a small, dark-skinned boy with glasses agreed.

"Oh, right!" Tyler turned to the two others, "Did you guys hear? I hear that people are looking everywhere for that Blaineley chick!"

"I heard some guys spotted her at the shopping district," the short male replied, shrugging, "Hey, Eva. Do you know anything?"

"Actually, yeah, Cameron, I do," the athletic girl responded before whispering into the short boy's ear.

The boy's eyes widened, as he ran over across the room to confirm what he hear. Noah followed the boy's eyes and watched as he stopped in front of a Latina named Courtney.

"I know we don't talk much," Cameron rubbed his sleeve, "But is it true that Blaineley was seen at your family's bed and breakfast?"

Courtney upturned her nose at the boy, "I can't really tell you. She's a _celebrity_, Cameron."

"O-oh," Cameron looked deflated, "Right. I understand."

Noah watched Cameron retreat, and went back to reading his book. He wasn't quite sure why everyone was _still _worked up over that stupid affair. As he read, he could hear the goth he was sitting next to say something to Courtney.

"I'm going to be late to art class," Gwen groaned, "I wanted to show off the project I made over the summer, too."

"You can show them anytime, Gwen," Courtney giggled, "What's the rush?"

"Heather," Gwen sighed, "She's also made this project, and from what I hear, it's almost a personal attack against me."

Neither Courtney or Gwen really cared for Heather. She was the queen bee of the school and everyone knew it. It was even worse that she was dating Courtney's ex-boyfriend, Duncan.

"Oh, by the way," Gwen remembered, "Did you try you-know-what the other night?"

"Not yet," Courtney shook her head.

Gwen shrugged, "Me either. I'm waiting a bit to try it out."

"Gwen, why do you even believe it's real anyway?" Courtney asked, with a teasing tone in her voice.

"I don't," Gwen replied, "But I _did _hear someone in a class next door yell something like, 'My soulmate is that Blaineley chick!', or something like that."

"Yeah, he wishes," Courtney snickered.

Once again, the intercom went off, interrupting the two and causing Noah to stop listening into the two's conversation.

"Attention, all students," the feminine voice spoke, "There has been an incident in the area. Police officers have been dispatched. Please stay calm and make your way back to your dorms as soon as possible. Do not disturb the police officers."

"Holy crap," Tyler spoke up, "An incident?!"

"What, something actually happened?" a tall, blonde girl asked.

"Ya, my great-great-great grandfather's grandfather invented the word incident," a chubby brown haired girl added, "Before then, people-"

Noah stopped listened from there and stood up. He decided he might as well head back to his dorm as soon as possible.

"Hey! Noah, was it? Wait up!"

Or not.

* * *

**The next chapter is going to be introducing another character into the plot and giving a little bit more development on Noah, Duncan, Gwen, Courtney, and Mike. **

**Until next time!**


	4. Who's There?

**Chapter Four: **Who's There?

* * *

Noah begrudgingly turned around to face the person who called out to him. The goth named Gwen and prep named Courtney approached him, something that surprised him a little bit.

"Yeah, that's my name," he replied, "Don't wear it out."

"This isn't the nineties," Gwen rolled her eyes, "Say, are you heading back to your dorm? How about walking with us?"

Noah didn't falter, "I'd prefer to walk with people I at least know the names of."

"Fine," Gwen shrugged, "I'm Gwen Fahlenbock. But you probably heard that when McLean called roll, and of course, I sit next to you."

"You do?" Noah deadpanned with a smirk.

Gwen, just as much of a sarcastic character, shot back, "You know, shooting off your mouth won't get you anywhere right?"

Noah shrugged, "Oh, I don't know. It amuses me, at least."

The two were interrupted by Courtney clearing her throat. She extended her hand to Noah and said, "I'm Courtney Barlow. It's nice to meet you."

Noah wasn't a fan of shaking people's hands but shook hers anyway, "Yeah, charmed. So, what's the catch?"

"Excuse me?" Courtney arched a brow.

"People don't just come up to the new kid out of nowhere," Noah clarified, "What's the ulterior motive?"

"No ulterior motive," Gwen shrugged, "I just wanted to ask some stuff, you know."

"Do I have a say in this?" Noah asked.

"Not really," Gwen replied, her painted blue lips still forming an amused smirk.

Before Noah could respond, the green-haired punk from earlier, Duncan, made his way over to the trio.

"Yo, Pasty," Duncan began, "You cool if we reschedule hangin' out for tomorrow?"

"Let me guess," Gwen said, crossing her arms over her chest, "You have a date with the queen of mean."

"Hey, hey," Duncan raised his hands in defense, "That's what relationships are about. I didn't have no say in it, Pasty."

"Except you never broke off hanging out for any of _our _dates," Courtney reminded, shooting Duncan a pointed glare.

Noah, meanwhile, was having the time of his life watching the three. He had always been a fan of watching people argue, so this was like him being a kid in a candy store. Or him being himself in a bookstore, one of the two.

"Woah now, Princess," Duncan shot back, "_You _always controlled how our dates worked out. It wasn't my fault!"

Gwen groaned, "Okay, come on, guys. Let's not argue. Talk to you later, Duncan?"

"Sure thing, Pasty," Duncan said, as Gwen and Courtney walked outside the classroom. Noah stopped beside Duncan and snarked, "Good going, punk rock."

"Do you want your egghead cracked?" Duncan replied, crossing his arms. Noah just shrugged and decided to say no more, following after Courtney and Gwen.

* * *

Noah and Gwen, surprisingly, hit it off quickly, as they walked back to the dormside of the academy. Courtney, however, kept quiet, seemingly miffed. The three were soon stopped by a red-haired boy, however.

"Uh, you're Courtney, right?" he asked, "We were lab partners once, and uh, wanna hang out somewhere?"

"No, Scott," Courtney frowned, "I'm not really in the mood."

"Who's this joker?" Noah whispered to Gwen.

Gwen whispered back, "He's Scott. Everyone knows he has a crush on Courtney. I've always kinda wondered if she had a crush back."

"It definitely would be an odd mix, that's for sure," Noah snickered, which caused Gwen to snicker as well.

"Ya sure?" Scott asked, "I mean, me and some friends were gonna hang out in my dorm and watch some wrestlin' and-"

"Ew, of course not!" Courtney exclaimed, "There's a lot of better stuff on TV than fake fighting."

Scott scowled, "Fine! I-I didn't even want you to go anyway!" The farm boy turned on his heels and huffed off towards the dorms.

"Okay, that was weird," Courtney commented.

"What do you mean that was weird?" Gwen asked, raising an eyebrow, "He was asking you out on a date!"

"When we're supposed to be going straight back to our dorms?" Courtney asked.

"Well, technically, you _would _be going back to a dorm," Noah chimed in.

"Yeah, but not _my _dorm," Courtney crossed her arms, "What's the point of having rules put down in whatever situation we're in if we're not going to follow them?"

"You must be fun at parties," Noah said, sarcastically.

"Oh, definitely," Duncan had caught up to the trio with the same tone of sarcasm, "She's a _thrill." _Without saying another word, he kept on walking. Courtney let out an annoyed groan, as Gwen let out a laugh.

Gwen then turned to Noah as the three began to walk again and asked, "How come you signed up for this school anyway?"

"My parents decided to go globetrotting without me," Noah shrugged, "I needed somewhere to go to school and I didn't feel like staying home by myself."

"Huh," Gwen mused, "I thought it was something way more serious."

"Oh, no, I got sent here because I murdered someone," Noah sarcastically replied, rolling his eyes, "That's the only reason I'd come to nowheresville like this."

"That's what makes it nice, though," Gwen replied, shrugging, "Besides, there's a _few _things nice here. Like the bed and breakfast and law firm Courtney's family runs."

"That's an odd combination,"Noah said.

"Yeah, but it's probably the best two things in the entire Muskoka area," Courtney stated, nose-upturned.

"Man, with that attitude, I can't see why Scott finds you cute," Gwen teased her best friend, "Say, Noah? Speaking of, what do you think of-"

"Excuse me?!" Courtney asked, glaring at the two, "I know you're not starting this conversation."

"She's alright for a prep, I guess," Noah shrugged.

"You guess?!" Courtney's thought on the matter changed, which caused Gwen's amusement to skyrocket, "I-"

"Hey," Gwen cut Courtney off, "Isn't that Mike and DJ from Class B?"

Sure enough, Mike and a tall Jamaican boy were talking a few feet ahead of them. The Jamaican boy, DJ, looked a little nervous, while Mike was crouched slightly, holding his back with his hand.

"I can't believe the police found an actual dead body, man," they overheard DJ speaking.

"A dead body?" Gwen asked, as the three approached the two, "You've got to be kidding."

"Yeah," Mike spoke in what sounded like an old man's voice, "Somethin' you whippersnappers did, I probably bet. They found some broad hangin' upside down from a telephone pole not far from this here school."

Noah, Gwen, Courtney, and DJ all shared confused glances at each other before turning back to Mike.

"Uh," Noah started, "Is there a reason you're talking like that?"

"I have no idea what you're talkin' about, scrawny boy!" Mike replied, "In my day, murders were a lot less common than they were at this point-"

By now, DJ had taken this chance to escape, obviously taken back by Mike's sudden personality change.

"Okay, that's it," Gwen finally said, "There's enough weird stuff happening for one day. I'm headed back to our dorm. Coming, Courtney?"

"Yeah," Courtney seemed a bit weirded out, plus a little sickened by the thought that a dead body was supposedly found, "See you later, Noah?"

"Maybe?" Noah's voice wasn't sarcastic for once, as he was still eyeing Mike in confusion. This wasn't what he expected from his roommate at all. He gave a wave to the two girls, gave another odd look at the ranting Mike, and made his own way back to the dorm he shared with Mike and Zoey.

* * *

For the longest time, neither Zoey or Mike made it back to the dorm. Noah took this chance to grab a map of the town that was provided in the room and see what he didn't scope out the day before. He noticed that the town held another restaurant, a small church, a liquor store, a river, and the Stopartment store.

All in all, it wasn't a big town at all.

He continued to louse around and watch television when he finally heard the dorm door open and close. Zoey walked into the room and sat down on the couch beside the bookworm.

"Hey, Noah!" she greeted.

"Mike isn't with you?" he asked.

She shook her head, "I haven't seen him since class. Why?"

"Well, number one, because we were told to go _right to our dorms,_" he rolled his eyes, "And number two, because he was acting really weird earlier."

Zoey's already pale complexion paled even further, "Uh, what do you mean?"

"He was acting like some sort of old man," Noah replied, "What's the deal with that?"

"He's an actor," Zoey replied, but the tone of her voice didn't really give Noah much hope that she was telling the truth, "He was probably practicing for the drama club or something. Hey! Let's watch some TV, alright?"

Noah arched an eyebrow at Zoey's behavior as she turned on the television, but he didn't press the conversation any further.

"Our top story this evening concerns a bizarre case in the area of Muskoka," the news announcer spoke on the TV, "Around noon today, a woman was found dead near Wawanakwa Academy."

"So, the rumor really was true," Zoey muttered.

"Uh, Zoey?" Noah asked, actually seeming surprised for once, "That picture isn't of who I think it is, is it?"

The picture of the deceased was shown on the screen. It was of the newscaster, Blaineley O'Halloran.

"Woah!" Zoey widened her eyes, "That's horrible!"

"Tell me about it," Noah added, "And think about it, the first person they're going to look at for this is that Josh guy or maybe that Josephine singer."

"I think that's what makes it so shocking," Zoey replied, "I mean, I knew this was a big deal but I didn't think anyone was going to get _killed _over it."

"The body was found hanging from on top of a telephone pole," the announcer continued, "Authorities are uncertain as to why the body was in such a state. With the cause of death also uncertain, police continue to investigate whether the death is an accident or a homicide."

"She was found hanging from a telephone pole," Noah deadpanned, "How could that be an accident?"

With that, Zoey turned off the TV and giggled nervously, "Let's... not watch any more TV today. Agreed?"

Noah had no objections to that.

* * *

**With that, we're finally going to move onto the next day. A lot of stuff is planned for the next day, so stay tuned!**


	5. Like a Dream Come True

**Chapter Five: **Like a Dream Come True

* * *

_Wednesday, September 9, 2015_

* * *

Unlike the day before, Noah didn't find Zoey with breakfast ready when he woke up. After fixing himself some breakfast and hurrying out of his dorm with a cup of homemade coffee, he had to say, the dorm was quiet without Mike or Zoey around and he secretly hoped there wouldn't be many more silent days.

He swore to himself he wouldn't tell them that, however.

He found himself stopped behind Duncan, who was in the hallway, sleeping standing up against a locker.

A smirk crossed Noah's face as he got close to Duncan's ear and said, "Yo, Punk Rock."

Duncan jumped awake and looked around, before glaring at Noah, "You better have had a good reason for waking me up."

"Aside from you blocking the path of half the hallway?" Noah sarcastically retorted.

Duncan scoffed, "You try sharing a dorm with Harold and his girlfriend, LeShawna. Harold _snores_-"

"Yeah, I heard that once," Noah feigned yawning, "Can't you just ask for a room reassignment?"

"It ain't that easy, egg- Uh, what are you handing me?" Duncan arched his pierced unibrow at Noah, who was handing him the rest of his coffee.

"It's a family recipe," Noah explained, "And one of my older sisters used to work as a barista. Trust me, it'll wake you up."

"I don't want your germs," Duncan replied, giving a disgusted look.

"Fine," Noah shrugged, "You can go back to your sleep based coma- Please tell me you're not drinking it all."

Indeed, Duncan was chugging down the drink. He stood there for a minute and widened his eyes, "Damn, I didn't expect that to work."

"You're welcome," Noah rolled his eyes as he was handed back the empty cup.

"So, Noah, right?" Duncan asked, crossing his arms, "Transfer student and all? I'm Duncan Nelson."

"You drank my coffee and then introduced yourself to me," Noah replied, "Seriously?"

"Say, did you hear about that accident yesterday?" Duncan obviously wasn't listening, "I can't believe they found that announcer hangin' from a pole like that!"

"Mm," Noah grunted, "No way that could've been an accident."

"That's what I thought," Duncan replied, shrugging, "But seriously, I've been to juvie like six times and this is the most messed up think I ever heard."

"You think?" Noah asked, droning, "I never would have guessed."

"Hey, excuse me for makin' smalltalk, smartmouth," Duncan shot back. Before Noah could reply, the bell had rung.

The traverse to homeroom on the second floor would be a long one, but something continued to bug Noah.

Something about Duncan rang familiar to him.

* * *

Classes went on without a hitch, but in all honesty, Chris McLean was a horrible teacher. He didn't care what any of the students needed education-wise, didn't study any of the materials, and everything just _had _to circle back to him.

Just as Noah was getting up to head back to his dorm, he was cornered by none other than Duncan once again.

"Yo, brainiac," Duncan greeted, "Gettin' used to the school yet?"

"As much as I can on short notice," Noah replied, "Uh, is there a reason why you're still talking to me?"

"My pals Geoff and DJ are busy today and Harold's nowhere to be found, so I need _somethin' _to amuse me," Duncan said.

Noah arched a brow, "What about your girlfriend?"

"Heather?" Duncan asked, "I'm gonna see her later. No skin off my nose."

The Indian-Canadian teen asked, "And you can't find something else to do with your spare time?"

"Well, there ain't much to do here," Duncan explained, "Only thing that's great about this place is good food, outside of this dump anyway, and some clean air. Speakin' of good food, you know what the local delicacy here is?"

"By the way you're talking," Noah snarked, "Probably grasshoppers."

"It's grilled steak, Noah-it-all," Duncan said, "And it tastes freakin' fantastic. Wanna come grab some?"

Noah looked at Duncan like his head had just exploded. "Are you _really _doing this?"

Duncan widened his eyes before saying, "I-I'm just doin' it so I can get you to do my homework, got it?!"

"Sure," Noah shrugged, "I'd _love _to come, but I want to make sure I don't blow my monthly allowance all in one place."

Duncan groaned, "Fine, it's on me. Besides, I don't wanna owe you one for wakin' me up this mornin'."

"Well, free food does sound good," Noah mused, "Fine. Count me in."

"What about me?" a familiar voice asked, "We were supposed to hang out today."

"Right, crap, I forgot, Pasty," Duncan grunted.

"How about it, Courtney?" Gwen turned around to face her best friend, "Don't you think he should treat us too?"

"No way am I going to spend time with that neanderthal," Courtney replied, shaking her head, "Besides, I gotta help out at the bed and breakfast today."

"Okay," Noah cut in, "Is it me or does a bed and breakfast slash law firm mix not make sense?"

Courtney rolled her eyes, "My mom owns the law firm. My dad owns the bed and breakfast. They're not at the same place."

"But wouldn't it be neat if it was?" Duncan pondered, "Man, I could get a nice, comfy bed _and _a new lawyer to keep me outta trouble."

"No lawyer in their right mind would work with you for longer than five minutes," Courtney said, "I have to get going anyway." With that, Courtney gathered up her stuff and made her way out of the classroom.

"We should get going too, Dunc," Gwen teased, punching her friend playfully in the arm.

"And remember," Noah added with a smirk, "You have to treat _both of us_."

Duncan shook his head, "Oh, hell no! I ain't treatin' the both of you!"

* * *

"I can't believe I'm treating the both of you."

Duncan, Gwen, and Noah found themselves at Stopartment's food court, as Duncan walked over to the table they were sitting at with three burgers, three boxes of fries, and three drinks.

"Okay, this place doesn't sell grilled steak," Gwen reminded, crossing her arms, "What gives?"

"Yeah, well, since I have to treat two freeloaders, I hadda change my plans," Duncan said as he sat down.

"So?" Gwen asked, "That's no reason to take us to your place."

"Woah, woah, woah," Noah interrupted, "_His _place?"

"It ain't my place!" Duncan exclaimed, "My dad's just the manager here, that's it, alright? So we moved out here so he wouldn't hafta drive back and forth."

Gwen picked up a drink off of the tray and sipped it, "It doesn't help that this place is helping shut down all of the 'mom and pop shops' around town though."

"Come on," Duncan scoffed, "You can't blame it all on this place, right? The rest of those stores are old hat."

"Well, when I looked around, no one was at any of the other stores," Noah added, "So she makes a good point."

Duncan let out an aggravated exhale as he took a bite into his burger. Before an awkward silence could befall the group however, Duncan noticed someone out of the corner of his eyes. It was a Polynesian girl with long black hair and wearing a Stopartment uniform.

"Be right back," Duncan muttered, as he stood up and went to approach the girl.

Once Duncan was out of earshot, Noah asked, "Let me guess, that's Duncan's girlfriend?"

"Unfortunately," Gwen scowled, "That's Heather Wilson. Her family runs an antique store in the shopping district."

"Really?" Noah asked, "I didn't see any antique stores."

"It's almost closed down," Gwen replied, "Not many people go to it anymore. You probably overlooked it. I don't think it's even on the map anymore."

"Yet she's working here part-time?" Noah asked, before adding in a sing-song voice, "Dra-ma."\

The sound of a throat clearing led the two to notice that Duncan had brought Heather over to the table.

"So you're the transfer student," Heather studied Noah over once, "Noah, right? I'm Heather."

"I've heard about you," Noah replied. Heard about her was one way of putting it.

Heather scrunched up her nose before putting back on an, obviously fake, smile, "So, it must be nice to have someone from a bigger city to talk to, huh? I don't see Duncan hanging out with Geoff or any other guys much since Geoff started dating Bridgette."

"That ain't my problem," Duncan snorted, crossing his arms.

"He doesn't have too many friends," Heather continued, "So I hope you too get along good. As much as he _hates _to admit it and no matter how annoying he gets, he's a good guy."

Amused looks crossed both Gwen and Noah's faces. Noah replied, holding in snickers, "Oh, I'm sure he's a _great _guy."

"Heath-" Duncan was cut off by a kiss from his girlfriend. Gwen gave an annoyed glare as Noah arched an eyebrow.

"My break's just about over," she said once she released her boyfriend, "Back to work I go. Later, Duncan. Noah. Goth girl."

Duncan grumped as he sat down, "She talks about annoyin'... She has a younger brother and treats me almost the damn same way."

"If she's treating you like Damien, why are you two even still together?" Gwen asked.

"Don't you get it, Gwen?" Noah asked, putting on his most dramatic, yet sarcastic acting impression, "The daughter of a local family-owned antique shop and the scion of the invading department chain. It's obviously the flame of forbidden love."

"You better shut up before I make you shut up, smartass," Duncan threatened.

"Changing the subject," Gwen interrupted, trying to keep the two from arguing, "Have you guys ever heard of the Midnight Channel?"

"Midnight what-now?" Noah asked.

Gwen gave a mock sigh of exasperation, "Basically, you're supposed to look into a switched off TV, alone, exactly at midnight on a rainy night. While you're staring at your own reflection on the screen, another image will appear on the screen."

"You sure this isn't The Ring or somethin'?" Duncan asked as he ate a french fry.

"Good movie, but no," Gwen laughed, "Basically, they say that whoever you see in the new image is your soulmate."

"You really don't believe that, do you?" Noah asked.

"Well, it's going to rain tonight, I think," Gwen teased, "Let's all try it out and then you'll see, oh ye of little faith."

"Try it out?" Duncan asked, "Woah, Pasty, you haven't even tried it out yourself?"

Noah muttered, "This looks like the beginning to a cheesy horror novel."

"I hate to admit it, but I agree," Duncan nodded, before remembering, "Oh, wait a sec. 'Member that incident yesterday? Gwen, do you think it was a murder? And if so, do you think it's the psycho killer with a chainsaw and a hook?"

"Duncan, you shouldn't joke around about death like that," Gwen reprimanded, frowning, "And quit trying to change the subject! Are you guys gonna try the Midnight Channel thing or not?"

At this point, it sounded like they didn't really have a choice.

* * *

The sound of rain hitting the roof of the dorm flooded Noah's hearing. He was once again sitting on the couch with Zoey watching TV, neither of them saying a thing. The door opened and closed, as Mike came into the room and sat down between them.

"Hey, guys!" he brought Zoey into a sidehug, 'What's up?"

"Why were you so late?" Zoey asked with a frown.

"Sorry," Mike sighed, "Some... Things came up."

"What kind of things?" Noah asked, curiously.

"Uh, s-shhhh, they're talking about the murder!" Mike replied, pointing over to the television.

"Next, more on the details in the developing story on the incident in Muskoka Hills," the announcer on television began, "Announcer Blaineley O'Halloran's dead body was found hanging upside-down on a telephone pole in this isolated small town. It is confirmed that Ms. O'Halloran had been involved in an affair with Josh King, husband of blues singer, Josephine."

"Sounds like a lover's quarrel gone wrong to me," Noah commented, but neither Zoey or Mike replied.

"The police plan to investigate this relationship and question any personnel involved with them," the announcer continued, "In addition, we now bring you an exclusive interview with the local student who found Blaineley O'Halloran's body."

"Wait a sec," Mike pondered, "The only school in this town is the academy. Do you think it's someone we know?"

Zoey shuddered, "I sure hope not."

"What went through your mind when you saw it?" a reporter asked, interviewing the student who had her face blurred and voice distorted, "Could you tell she was dead? Did you see her face?"

"She was killed?" the student snarked, "I never would have guessed."

"Oh, errr," the reporter didn't expect that answer, "So, uh, did you see anyone suspicious around here?"

"No, not really."

"We heard that you found it when you left school early," the reporter continued, "Did you have some personal business to take care of?"

"Am I a suspect?" the student asked.

"Well, no, but-"

"Then you better get that dumb camera out of my face!"

At this point, Noah was pretty sure he knew who the student was. From what he heard about her, that was most likely Duncan's girlfriend, Heather.

The reporter turned to the screen and said, "There you have it, folks. It's also rumored that businesses believe they'll lose more customers over this incident."

Noah snorted,"If they lose more customers, it'll be because you're making such a stink about it."

"Uh, Noah?" Zoey asked, "You're talking to the TV."

"And your boyfriend makes light of death by putting on acting gigs," Noah countered. This silenced her and caused Mike's eyes to widen. Silence befell the three, and the last thing they heard before Noah got up to go to his room was the Stopartment's jingle.

* * *

Noah, in his pajamas of a white wife-beater and red boxers, sat on the bed of his room staring at his miniature television. The rain continued to pour outside and it was almost was about time to see if Gwen's story was real.

He watched as the clock's second hand clicked over to midnight. He got up from his bed and walked over to the television. He stood there for several seconds, but nothing happened.

"Yeah, I shoulda known."

He turned around to make his way back to his bed when a light suddenly radiated from th small screen. He widened his eyes and slowly turned around to face the screen again. Images of a girl inside a yellow-hued area flashed on the screen while a loud voice resonated in his mind.

"**Now I've found you. Awake to your true destiny as my host body."**

A sharp migraine began to form as the voice spoke, causing him to place his hands on his temples. Before he knew it though, his hand began to move on its own just like in his last dream. His hand slowly moved towards the TV screen.

What surprised him the most was that it seemed to slip inside the screen as if it was nothing but liquid. What made things worse, was it was now sucking him inside until it had enveloped him from his hand up past his shoulder and to his head.

"No, no, no, no, no!"

He pulled back, freeing himself from being sucked into the television, but stumbled backwards, hitting his head on the coffee table behind him.

He had control over his hands again, now putting them over his head to try to ease his now worsening headache. A few rumblings were heard from one of his roommates before he heard Zoey ask, "Noah? Is that you?"

"Unfortunately," he groaned.

"Are you okay?"

He knew that she obviously wouldn't believe him, especially after what he said earlier that night. So instead he replied, "Yeah. I... just fell off my bed. Go back to sleep."

Zoey didn't say anything for a few seconds before replying, "Alright, then... Good night, Noah."

"Ugh," Noah groaned again, "Night."

He didn't sleep a wink that night.

* * *

_Thursday, September 10th, 2015_.

* * *

It continued to rain the next day. Classes went on without a hitch, aside from the fact that Noah did something he never did in classes. Slept through most of them. As the last class ended and he woke up from another nap, he overheard two girls, who he believed were named Dakota and Staci, talking next to him.

"I can't believe the body was upside down," Dakota said, "Daddy really wanted me to come to this school and then there was a murder not even two blocks away from the school?"

For once, Staci didn't tell one of her compulsive lies, "I-I think it was supposed to be mimicking an execution." This didn't last long however, as she added, "My great-great-great-great-great grandfather actually invented executions! Ya, before that, we-"

Noah tuned her out there. He felt a rough hand shove him slightly in his seat.

"You awake?" it was Duncan.

"If I wasn't already, I am now," Noah grumbled, "What do _you _want?"

Duncan rubbed the back of his neck, "It ain't all that important, but uh-"

"Guys," Gwen ran up to the two, "Did you hear the rumor?"

"What rumor?" Noah asked, "That the Midnight Channel's actually true?"

Gwen smirked, "Well, yeah, that, but let's talk about that later. Apparently Heather's the one who found the body."

"I haven't seen her at school today either," Duncan added, "She probably got taken into the police station for questionin'."

The three turned when they heard Courtney scoop up her belongings loudly and make her way toward the exit of the classroom.

"Courtney?" Gwen asked, "Are you busy working with your parents today too?"

"Yeah, but I'll meet you back at our dormroom later, Gwen," she smiled, awkwardly. Without another word, she made her way out of the room.

"Okay," Duncan spoke once she was out of earshot, "Is it me, or does Princess seem stressed out more than usual?"

"They're probably running her ragged," Noah shrugged,.

"By the way, did you guys watch the Midnight Channel last night?" Gwen asked.

Noah and Duncan both shared the same nervous look at that. Neither really wanted it to be brought up.

"Uh, did _you _?" Duncan asked, trying to keep up his usual cool personality.

"I did and I totally saw a girl," Gwen replied, "I mean, I guess it makes sense. I don't really have any preference in relationships or anything. But I couldn't quite tell who it was or anything either. All I could tell was she had long, black hair."

"Woah, I saw that too," Duncan seemed genuinely surprised, "It was pretty blurry, but I culd have sworn it was Heather-"

"Ew, no, anything but that," Gwen scowled, "But if we _did _see the same person, why would we have the same soulmate?"

"Hell if I know," Duncan shrugged before turning to Noah, "What about you, egghead? Did you see anything?"

Noah pursed his lips. He knew telling them would be a bad idea, because he knew they wouldn't believe him, but he had to get it out one way or another.

So tell them he did...

...And believe him they didn't.

"You saw the same person, heard a loud voice, and then got sucked into your TV," Duncan deadpanned, not believing this for a second, "You probably just fell asleep in front of your TV."

"That'd be an interesting dream though," Gwen added with an amused tone, "I especially like the part where you got stuck because your TV was too small, that was pretty realistic."

"If you two are going to just make fun of me, just drop it," Noah snapped.

"Fine," Gwen shrugged, "Hey, that reminds me. Courtney and I are actually looking for a bigger TV for our room."

"I think the Stopartment has a sale on those," Duncan pondered, "Wanna go check it out?"

Noah slammed his head down on his desk. He definitely felt stupid for telling them anything now.

"Sure," Gwen nodded, trying to hide some laughter at Noah's plight, "I've been wanting to rent some new horror films and seeing them on a bigger screen'd rock."

"We'vwe got some pretty big ones in stock, too," Duncan laughed cruelly, nudging Noah, "Maybe big enough to fit into, right Noah-it-all?"

"Bite me." was all Noah could reply with.

* * *

**So, this was originally going to be split into two chapters, but I felt like it was important enough to make one chapter in the end. The plot's finally beginning to pick up, so next time will definitely be intense.**


	6. Every Day's Great at Shopartment

**Chapter Six: **Every Day's Great at the Stopartment Store

* * *

Somehow Noah found himself at the electronics department of the Stopartment Store alongside Duncan and Gwen. He wasn't too sure how he got roped into this, but with the way they didn't believe him, there was a lot of placed he would have rather been. The three stood looking at a gigantic sixty-inch flat-screen, that was most impressive, to say the least.

"I definitely haven't seen a TV this huge," Gwen mused, before finding the price tag, "...Or this expensive. Seriously, _no _one has money for this."

"Rich folks do," Duncan snorted with a shrug,"But since we live in the boonies, of course no one buys these things. We don't even have clerks around here."

"At least looking's free," Noah offered with a shrug.

Duncan and Gwen gave amused smirks at Noah as they walked up to the big screen and tapped it once.

"Well, look!" Duncan feigned surprise, "We can't get in, Pasty!"

"Could it be that the almighty Noah-it-all just had a bad dream?" Gwen added, with the same tone of fake surprise.

"It wasn't just a dream!" For once, Noah was infuriated, "Do I _look _crazy to you guys?!"

"Dude, if we went through one of these TVs we'd just end up on the other side," Duncan replied, "So, just drop it already!"

Before Noah could reply, Duncan turned to Gwen and put on a fake car-salesman voice, "Now, young lady, which of our prime models are you in the market for today?"

"Something cheap," Gwen played along, "Any suggestions, 'mister?'"

Duncan led Gwen down a couple of televisions and continued to tease, "Well, might I suggest this beauty over here? It's the newest model released this spring with the newest hubcaps already installed."

"Dunc," Gwen reminded, "TVs don't have hubcaps. And besides, that's not cheap! There's way too many zeroes on it!"

"Just play along, Pasty!"

Gwen playfully punched her friend in the shoulder, "You've got connections, right, mosshead? Come on, hook me up already."

"The only way I can 'hook you up' is to steal one of these things and go back to juvie," Duncan replied, "And I broke out of there once, I don't wanna do it again."

While the two continued to talk about TVs, they left Noah in front of the large TV. He hated what he was about to do, but with a TV that big, he would really be able to go inside. Despite his better judgment, he placed his hand on it.

"Uh, guys?" to his surprise, his hand began to sink into the television just like the last time.

"What is it now-" Duncan stopped, as the two gazed in awe that Noah's hand was actually in the TV.

Gwen rubbed her eyes once, "Please tell me I'm hallucinating."

"Maybe Chef Hatchet's grub had something laced in it?" Duncan asked, chuckling nervously.

The two stared at each other before running back over to Noah.

"And you two didn't believe me," Noah's voice was smug, despite his situation, "I wonder..."

He climbed further into the rippling TV, now putting his entire head and shoulders inside.

"Dude, what the hell?!" Duncan asked, "I thought you were one of the most sane geeks in our school, but do you have any idea what you're doing?!"

"There's something behind this and I'm trying to figure out what," Noah's voice echoed from the TV, "Besides, there's no one around, right?"

"Yeah, but what if you can't get back out?" Gwen asked, "What do you see in there anyway?"

"Empty space," was his deadpan, but honest, reply.

"Well, _that's _helpful," Gwen rolled her eyes.

Duncan, meanwhile, widened his eyes, "Shit! Customers are coming!"

"What?!" Noah asked, raising his body up slightly but hitting his back on the remainder of the TV, "Do you forget that you have someone half stuck in a TV here?!"

"Quick, let's pull him out!" Gwen decided. Duncan and Gwen each grabbed ahold of Noah's legs, trying to pull him out on the TV, but instead, they began to be dragged into the TV as well.

Before they all knew it, they were sucked into a parallel world.

* * *

They all fell onto their backsides in a new world, filled with what seemed to be yellow fog. Duncan rubbed his back and groaned, "Great. I landed on my room key."

"I think we all did, genius," Noah added, also groaning in pain. It was like they fell from a huge height but still survived.

"Guys, where the hell are we?" Gwen asked as she stood up, "Because I'm pretty sure this isn't an extra room at the Stopartment."

"A better question is we're still alive, right?" Noah asked as he and Duncan stood up, "Are you guys alright?"

"Aside from my butt being cracked?" Duncan pondered, "Yeah, I think we're alive, brainiac"

The area around them reminded them of a television station. There was cameras, stage props, and everything, but it was still extremely foggy.

"Okay, now that we're here," Gwen spoke up, "What do we do now, _genius?_" She raised an eyebrow at Noah.

"We might as well look around while we're here," he shrugged.

"Uh, wrong answer!" Gwen exclaimed, "We need to get back home, you know!"

"Okay, I don't see a way in or out, Pasty," Duncan frowned, "I think we gotta at least look around to find a way outta this place."

"And if there isn't a way out?" Gwen asked, "_Then _what do we do?"

"Don't ask me," Duncan shrugged.

Noah sighed, "We're doomed."

"Uh, yeah, thanks for the helpful optimism, Noah," Gwen rolled her eyes.

"Ma used to say, 'If there's a way in, there's a way out,'" Duncan quoted, "Dunno if that holds any water in a TV World or not, but it's worth a shot."

"Except we _fell _in, remember?" Gwen reminded.

"If there's no exit, we're stuck here for good," Noah tried to reason, "Let's at least look around and _try _to find an exit."

There were no objections to that.

* * *

They had walked around for what felt like forever. Something about this new world was draining, that was for sure. But they weren't sure what. Sooner or later, they finally found themselves out of the studio-like area and into a long corridor.

"Now where are we?" Gwen asked, "It sure does look a lot different."

"Kinda reminds me of the halls from juvie," Duncan said before inhaling, "Smells a whole lot better though."

"I can think of six words not necessary there," Noah snarked.

"Guys, do you see what I see?" Gwen asked, pointing ahead.

A red door stood at the end of the corridor. Noah paled.

"Uh, would you guys believe me if I said something incredibly odd?" Noah inquired, seeming a lot less like himself and a lot more worried.

"You found a portal to some other dimension, egghead," Duncan turned to the shorter teen, "Right now, I think we're willin' to believe anything."

"Will you stop calling me egghead?" Noah asked, glaring at the delinquent, "Look, the night I arrived in town, I had a dream that I was stuck in a foggy world and there was a door that looked just like that one."

Duncan and Gwen exchanged glances. There really wasn't a reason not to believe Noah at this point.

"Okay," Gwen started, "Was there anything dangerous on the other side of that door?"

"Life's never easy enough," Noah replied, "Of course there was. Some monster enshrouded in the fog."

Gwen sighed and slumped slightly, "Great."

"Well, it's not like we really got a choice, do we?" Duncan crossed his arms, "'Sides, if there's any monster, I'll take care of it."

That didn't ease Gwen or Noah's worries one bit.

* * *

On the other side of the door, the fog was visibly lighter. The room inside seemed to be a lot like a hotel room. What was bad, it was a dead end.

Of course, the blood splatter on the walls, the chair and noose, and the ruined pictures in the room was a dead giveaway that something was definitely wrong.

"Well, this is definitely out of a horror movie," Gwen commented, "Blood everywhere, a noose to hang yourself with, and faces cut out of pictures. Classic, really."

"Is there a _reason _why you're taking this so well?" Noah asked, gulping.

"Yo, I think I've seen these pictures before," Duncan spoke up, "Ain't this the picture of that Josephine singer?"

A dark skinned woman with an afro was originally in all of the pictures before her face was cut out.

"That's peculiar," Gwen tilted her head a bit before scowling, "Ugh. Is it just me who feels like my head's pounding to death?"

"Not really," Duncan frowned, "I kinda feel nauseous. I haven't felt like this since like friggin' elementary school."

"Yeah, I feel like I could vomit any minute," Noah added.

At this point, it was a general consensus to walk back to the studio.

* * *

As soon as they made it back to the studio, the sound of thundering footsteps echoed nearby.

"Okay, am I going crazy or am I hearing things?" Gwen asked, "I mean, it may be my throbbing headache, but-"

"Uh, somethin's comin' our way!" Duncan shouted, motioning towards a certain thick-layer of fog.

A tall silhouette began to step, thunderously, towards them. As it stepped out of the fog, the group noticed it was a boy with a green color to him (something that Noah remembered Ezekeil had) that was quite a bit overweight.

"Yep," Gwen commented, ready to fight or flight at any minute, "This definitely just turned into a horror movie!"

"Last time I checked, zombies weren't _that _big," Duncan motioned, also ready to fight for his life if need be.

"Hey!" the boy yelled defensively, "I'm not big! I'm just... big boned! Who are you guys anyway?!_"_

"I'm ninety percent sure that's not a zombie," Noah sarcastically retorted.

The bigger boy gasped, "Zombie?! Where?!"

"Nevermind," Noah sighed. He didn't seem like a threat at all. Noah decided to then ask, "Just where exactly are we?"

"My home, of course!" the giant went from scared to jolly real quick, "I-"

"Woah, wait a second, tubby," Duncan interrupted, "You _live _in this dump?"

"It's not a dump, man!" he frowned, "If I was you guys, I'd go back to the other side. Because great balls of fire, this place can be dangerous!"

"Dangerous?" Gwen asked.

"And on top of that, someone's throwing people in here!" he continued, "Seriously, it's messed up, man!"

"Throwing people in?" Noah asked, pretty sure this new figure had lost his marbles.

Owen frowned, "I dunno who, but they need to stop! The Shadows'll get agitated! Anyways, you guys should hurry back!"

"Don't you get it?!" Duncan screamed, "We don't know how to get out, you dumbass!"

The big-boned guy blinked before chortling, "Alright, then! I'll just let you out!"

"That's it, we're officially screw-" Gwen cut herself off, "Uh, did you say you'd let us out?"

Owen laughed again and stomped the ground. A pile of three televisions fell from the sky and onto the center of the studio.

"...You know, while everything we've seen's been pretty damn weird, this takes the cake," Naoh deadpanned.

"Come on, little fellas, it's time for you guys to go back to your world!"

To the three's surprise, the gentle giant picked up the three and literally threw them into the stack of TVs. The last thing that crossed into all of their minds was, "This is the end."

Everything went dark for a few moments.

* * *

When their vision returned, they were back in the electronics section of the Shopartment Store. The three stared at each other awestruck and stood to their feet, too shocked to say anything.

"Attention, shoppers," a worker spoke over the store PA, "Our daily limited-time sale will now begin at the side dish area on the first floor. Why not try the delicious, fresh produce the Shopartment Store picked for you this morning as your side dish for dinner tonight?"

"Holy crap, it's already this late?" Duncan asked, "They usually start that sale at like five o'clock."

"Doesn't surprise me," Gwen shrugged, "We were in there for quite a while."

Noah shuddered for a second before saying, "I _really _hate to say this... But about that room with that Josephine's picture in it. I think it's related to that O'Halloran chick's death."

"Oh, no no no," Duncan shut Noah up, picking the bookworm up by the collar, "We ain't talkin' about this anymore!"

Both Noah and Gwen were surprised. Duncan obviously seemed scared to some point, something Gwen had never seen before and something Noah thought wasn't possible.

"Let's go home," Gwen came between Duncan and Noah, "I think we all need to lay down and rest."

Duncan glared at Noah before dropping him onto the floor and making his own way back to Wawanakwa Academy.

"Don't worry about him," Gwen turned to the bookworm, "I'm sure he's just as freaked out about all of us."

"I wasn't _going _to worry about him," Noah covered up his own fear with some sarcasm.

Gwen shrugged and made her way out behind Duncan, leaving Noah on the floor of the electronics department.

* * *

"Hey, welcome home, dude."

Noah finally made it back to his dorm room to be greeted by Mike and Zoey. He didn't say anything and sat down on the couch, tiredly.

"Are you okay?" Zoey asked, "You look almost sick."

"I'm just tired," Noah replied, "I... Decided to go walk around town and got worn out." He didn't think neither Mike or Zoey would believe him at this point.

Zoey shrugged, "Alright, then. I was just wondering."

"Hey, Noah?" Mike asked, "I guess you don't know then."

"Know what?" Noah asked, with one eye-lid closed.

"A student disappeared," Zoey explained, "Some of our teachers are looking for them, but no one's found them yet. And they won't tell us who it was either."

"They wanted us to come back to the dorms right after they heard but they couldn't find you, Duncan, or Gwen either!" Mike continued.

Noah frowned, deciding a white lie wouldn't be that bad, "We were... hanging out."

An uncomfortable silence fell over the three. Noah was quiet because it was a lot more complicated than that, and Mike and Zoey felt left out that Noah had already been making friends there. Only the sound of the television could be heard in the room.

"And now, more on the case still casting a shadow over Muskoka Hills," the announcer on the screen mentioned, "Up until now, Blaineley O'Halloran's whereabouts prior to her death had been unknown. But the police investigation has found staying at the local bed and breakfast. She had apparently been staying there alone. Perhaps she was taking a vacation to recover from her ordeal?"

Noah froze. That had to have been the place that Courtney's family owned.

"Hey, Noah?" Zoey asked, "You probably shouldn't wander around town tomorrow. Aftr it rains for a few days around here, it usually gets very foggy, so be careful."

"Yeah, yeah," Noah replied. In all honesty, after his misadventure today, he was sick of fog for one lifetime.

* * *

_Friday, September 11th, 2015_

Police cars slowly pulled into a street in Muskoka Hills, around four in the morning. The policemen opened the doors to their cars and looked up to see if what they were called about was the truth. Unfortunately, it wasn't a lie.

Upon the nearby telephone pole, a body lay, upside down, mangled beyond comprehension.

A second murder had occurred.

* * *

**This is officially where the story begins to get interesting. Noah, Duncan, and Gwen are now officially tied to the case and it's confirmed that there's a serial killer in Muskoka Hills (plus a not-so-subtle new character was introduced who I'm sure you all know is Owen). Next time, the second victim will be revealed and the true plot will be beginning to rear its ugly head. Until next time!**


	7. Reasoning

**Chapter Seven: **Reasoning

* * *

The sound of arguing and the dorm room door slamming woke Noah up a little earlier than usual that morning, but he felt like sleeping for a few hours more. Unfortunately, it was a school day so that wasn't in the agenda.

Yesterday was the most surreal thing he had ever experienced, and he wasn't too sure it was over yet; or rather, barely begun.

He finally got up and made his way into the main room of his shared dorm with Mike and Zoey. Zoey sat at their makeshift dinner table in her pajamas, head down.

"Uh, Zoey?" Noah asked, "We've got class, remember?"

"Yeah," her voice cracked, "I know. I just don't feel too good today."

"Bullshit," Noah grumbled, crossing his arms, "You two's fighting woke me up."

Surprisingly, Zoey didn't miss a beat, "We didn't fight. I was trying to help Mike with his acting and-"

"Look," Noah interrupted, "If you don't want to tell me the truth, that's no skin off my nose. But I'm not going to be woke up by you two's arguing. I'd easily find someone else to room with."

Not even letting her answer, he walked outside and closed the door behind him.

He knew he'd feel like an ass over that for a while.

* * *

To Noah's surprise, classes had been canceled for the day, but they were all called to the auditorium for an announcement instead. As he walked to the halls towards the announcement, he overheard the conversation of two girls, who he thought were named Beth and Lindsay.

"When I looked," Beth spoke, "I saw three police cars zooming by and stopping near our campus."

"I totally slept through that," Lindsay admitted before asking, "Did you hear anything?"

"I heard some yelling, but nothing more," Beth said, "I really hope it wasn't anything serious."

"Beth, you've, like, gotta listen more to that kinda stuff!" Lindsay explained, "How else are we going to get juicy stories?"

"Oh!" Beth remembered, "Did you see it last night?"

"No, but a lot of people did," Lindsay frowned, "I'm so sad I missed it!"

That didn't sound good at all.

* * *

Noah found himself sitting beside Gwen and Duncan in the auditorium of the school. Gwen was looking around for Courtney and Duncan seemed a little out of it for once.

"Hey, Noah?" Gwen asked, "Have you seen Courtney?"

"She's your roommate," Noah replied, before asking, "Why?"

Gwen shook her head, "She never came back to the dorm last night. I gotta say, I'm a little worried."

"I'm more worried about this school assembly," Noah said.

"Chris doesn't usually cancel classes and hold school assemblies," Gwen pondered aloud, "He only does when he holds these weird school challenges."

"School challenges?" Noah asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Basically, they're almost sadistic ways to amuse himself," she explained with a shrug.

Noah didn't like the sound of that at all. He turned to face Duncan, asking, "You're quiet for once, dye-for-brains."

"Y'know when you have that sinking feelin' in your stomach?" Duncan asked, "Because I have that now, y'know?"

Gwen pursed her lips, "I know how you feel, Dunc."

"Alright, maggots!" teacher and chef of the school, Hatchet, yelled into the microphone, "The school assembly's 'bout to begin! So sit your butts down and shut your mouths!"

Chris made his way to the platform, his usually cheery self gone, "Uh, ahem. Hey, students. I regret to say that I have a terrible announcement for you kids."

The entire room fell deadly silent. If a pin dropped in the room, it would have been the only thing that made a noise.

"One of our seniors, Heather Wilson was murdered."

The silence didn't stay for long, as this caused all of the students to start clamoring amongst themselves. Gwen and Noah looked over at Duncan, who for once, looked like he was about to throw up.

"She was found hanging upside down from a telephone pole this morning," Chris continued, "The police are doin' an investigation as we speak. If they ask you for your cooperation, I'd usually ask for you to lie and cause some drama in this hick town; but this time, please provide only the facts. Got it?"

Chef stepped back into the microphone, "Everyone, shut the hell up!"

Silence fell over the student body again.

"Thank you, Chef," Chris chuckled, "I've been told that there's been no evidence of bullying in this situation. So mind what you say. We don't want a bad name for Wawanakwa Academy, you hear me?"

Of course, that was really all Chris cared about.

Duncan stood up and left the auditorium, not wanting to hear another word about it. Noah and Gwen shared glances before following him out.

"Duncan!" Gwen called, "Hey, Duncan!"

Duncan spun on his heels in the hallway to face Gwen and Noah, his expression unreadable. "Did you guys check out the TV last night?"

"Your girlfriend's dead!" Gwen shouted, "And that's all you care about?!"

"Of course I care; you didn't even _like _Heather!" he shouted, "Just listen to me! I had this nagging feelin' so I watched it again last night. And I think the girl on the screen that we all saw was Heather."

Noah paled, "You've got to be kidding me."

"Not this time, brain- Noah," Duncan was dead serious, "She looked like she was in pain and then she disappeared from the screen."

"What are you-"

Duncan interrupted Gwen and continued, "Remember that guy you talked about who said his soulmate was Blaineley? I think... Ugh. I hate havin' to be the voice of reason for once. Especially now."

"You think Blaineley could've been on the Midnight Channel before she died too," Noah answered for the delinquent.

"Hold on a second," Gwen pieced two and two together, "If that's right, then people who appear on the Midnight Channel die."

"Yeah," Duncan swallowed, "This can't be a coinky-dink."

"And remember what that big guy said?" Noah asked, "He said that the place was dangerous and we should leave before the fog clears."

"Yeah," Gwen nodded, "It also said that someone's been throwing people in there. So, if Duncan's right, that room we found with the posters on the wall has to do with Blaineley's death."

"Exactly," Duncan crossed his arms, "You guys have to see the connection, right? That damn world in the TV has to have somethin' to do with that announcer and... Heather's death."

"Duncan, you don't have to keep being strong," Gwen tried to reason, "I know you're looking for reasons to explain things, but-"

"I'm not!" Duncan scowled, his emotions taking control of him for once, "There's got to be a reason! It-"

"I think you're onto something."

Duncan and Gwen both stared at Noah incredulously. The usually only sane man and cynical Noah actually believed that Duncan might be right.

"Let's assume that there _is _a connection," Noah continued, tapping his lip, "If so, there's a good bet that the two of them also went inside that world. Which means, now this is only _if _Duncan's right, if we look around, we might find some clues to confirm the connection."

"Noah, don't tell me-" Gwen's voice trailed off.

"I hate to admit it," Noah sighed, "But I think we need to go in again."

"You two are just highschool seniors," Gwen reprimanded, "Don't you think this is something the police should handle?"

"The police are just a buncha damn idiots!" Duncan exclaimed, "You think we can rely on them?! They haven't even solved that announcer's case, and you think they can solve this one!"

"Besides," Noah shrugged, "If we did tell them about the world inside the TV, there's no way they'd believe us. However, there's still the chance that we're completely off-base about this. Remember that."

Silence fell over the three for a couple of seconds before Duncan solemnly said, "I need to find out why Heather had to die like this."

Gwen gazed at her friend sympathetically. This was the most serious she had ever seen Duncan.

"There's no way I can ignore this," Duncan continued, before looking up at both of them, "You're the only two people I can really turn to to help me. Hell, with all the trouble I've caused in my life, you two are the only two that'd even _believe _me. So, I'm headin' to the Shopartment Store. If you're comin', you can meet me there. If not, whatever."

Without another word, Duncan walked past the two and went towards one of the exits of the school.

"I understand how he feels," Gwen spoke, cryptically, "About not being believed."

"What do you mean?" Noah asked, "You went to juvie too?"

Gwen didn't answer, instead asking a question herself, "Do you think if we got back in there we'd get back out again?"

"The chances are pretty slim," Noah replied, frowning.

"Then what do we do?" Gwen asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

Noah shrugged, "We can't let that idiot go by himself."

"We should at least try to talk him out of it," Gwen replied, "But I doubt that'll work either."

Without another word, the two decided to head after Duncan.

* * *

In the electronics section of the Shopartment Store, the two found Duncan with a rope, a golf club, and a couple of monkey wrenches.

"Huh," he snorted, obviously trying to mask his emotions by acting normally, "So you two came after all."

"We came to stop you, you idiot!" Gwen scowled, "This is dangerous!"

"So?" Duncan replied, "If we go in from the same place, maybe we'll meet tubby again."

"Except that maybe isn't good enough," Noah snarked.

"Look," Duncan crossed his arms, "I can't just pretend that I'm not hurt by this. Heather is- _was _my girlfriend. And on top of that, don't you think that since we're the only one who knows about the TV World, we're personally involved?"

"You... make a point," Gwen admitted.

Duncan turned to Noah, "What about you, shorty? Could you just walk away from this just like that?"

Noah shrugged, "Of course, I could. There's no telling what may happen."

"See?" Gwen nodded, "So-"

"_However_," a smirk crossed Noah's face, "Heather was your girlfriend and my dreams seem to have some correlation to this. Gwen doesn't have to be involved, but I've got my own reasoning to do this. Not for you, mind you, but for me."

A rare grin crossed Duncan's face, "Wouldn't want you to, shorty. Gwen, I'm leaving you in charge of this rope. We'll go in with this tied to us, so hold onto this and wait here."

"Hold on, I thought you weren't getting me involved-"

"Noah-it-all, this is for you," Duncan said, handing the golf club to the shorter teeen, "I thought it might be better than goin' in empty handed."

"So you knew I was coming all along, huh?" Noah snorted, "Typical."

"You might be a nerd; but you seem like someone selfish so I knew you'd want answers to your dream," Duncan replied, "Gwen, whatever you do, don't let go of the rope."

The rope was thrust into Gwen's hands, "Don't I have any say in this?"

Her answer came as Duncan tied the rope around him and Noah and the two climbed into the TV. Not long after however, Gwen watched as part of the rope severed.

Duncan and Noah were in real danger.

* * *

Duncan and Noah had arrived in the studio, and landed on their butts, just like last time. The two stood up and gave each other an affirmative nod.

"Well, we ended up in the same place as last time," Noah mused, "So they've got to be connected from place to place."

"Great barrier reef!" they heard the voice of the big guy from last time as he came running up to them, "Why did you two come back?! Are you the two behind this?!"

"Uh, _excuse me_?" Duncan asked, "How about you repeat that to my face?!"

"Someone's been throwing people in here!" the green-toned guy explained, "It's messing up the place after I had redecorated! This is the second time you guys came here, so you're suspicious! Why are you throwing people in here?!"

"Are you stupid or something?" Noah scoffed, "If someone threw someone in here, they couldn't get out and would die-"

It was then that Noah stopped and shared a look with Duncan.

"Wait a sec," Duncan said, "If people are being thrown in here, that could definitely be that announcer broad and Heather. Right?"

"I agree," Noah nodded, "If this brick wall's telling the truth, someone's throwing people in here with murderous intent."

"Is there a reason you're wearing those cool belts?" the big guy asked, frowning for once.

"They're a lifeline-" Duncan looked down at the rope, "Wait a second, it got cut!"

"I was going to tell you," Noah snarked, "Ropes only go so far, genius."

Duncan ignored Noah and threatened the bigger teen, "You better let us out once we're done snoopin' around!"

"Oh no, you're not snooping around anywhere!" the larger teen replied, "I've lived ere forever, but it's never been noisy until now! If it's okay, _prove _to me that you're not throwing people in here!"

"We don't have proof—"

"See?!" he interrupted Noah, "It has to be you guys!"

"Are you deaf or somethin'?!" Duncan was getting tired at this point, "It's not us, so we have nothin' to prove to you, dumbass!"

"We didn't come here accidentally this time," Noah added, much calmer than Duncan, "We've got some questions for you."

"People are dead in our world," Duncan explained, "Every time that fog rolls in, a dead body pops up too."

"And you said that whenever the fog clears here, it's dangerous," Noah chimed in, "So there's obviously something going on here."

The big guy mused for a second, "Well, when the fog lifts here, the Shadows get violent." Okay, goodness, no more questions! You two have to be-"

"Will you shut the hell up already?!" Duncan yelled, "We're not the culprits, you idiot!"

"Ugh, will you _both _shut up for two seconds?" Noah asked, rubbing his temples, "I'm trying to think... I think because this place looks like a TV Studio, that weird Midnight Channel nonsense is filmed here."

"...I don't get it," the big guy mused, "This world's always been like this, man. No one has ever filmed _anything _here. Only me and Shadows live here after all."

"Don't you get that we don't know what a Shadow is?" Duncan asked, exasperatedly, "We barely know what your green-toned ass is."

"And you keep telling us to prove our innocence when the only one that suspicious is you," Noah deadpanned, "For all we know, you could be the culprit."

"And I'm sure that green skin is some kinda costume!" Duncan added, "There's probably someone inside this tub of lard!"

Duncan rushed over to Owen and pulled on his head. To his surprise, his head came right off. Duncan yelped, and fell backwards, dropping the head on the floor. Both Duncan and Noah erupted into a chorus of screams as the big guy's body continued to move, feeling around for his head. Finally finding it, he stuck the head back on his body.

"I'm not the culprit," he seemed sad once he retrieved his head, "I just live here, man..." Tears began to well up in his eyes before he began to loudly cry.

Duncan and Noah both seemed frightened out of their wits. Noah walked over to the odd guy, patting him on the back, saying, "Er... Th-there there, big guy."

He finally calmed down after a few seconds of crying and sniffed, "Thanks, little uddy." He snatched Noah up in a hug, and continued, "Okay, I'll believe you dudes aren't the culprits. But I want you guys to find the real perpetrator and stop them, okay?"

"Can you let go?" Noah wheezed.

The guy dropped Noah to the floor and said, "Promise me or... uh... I know! I won't let you guys out of here!"

"You little spaz!" Duncan shouted, "You can't do that!"

"Duncan!" Noah chastised the punk, before thinking for a second. He remembered Dawn and Ezekiel's words back in one of his dreams.

"_It seems you'll find a misfortune at your destination and a great mystery will be put upon you, yo!"_

"_That's where the contract comes in. You'll return here then."_

He was broke out of his thoughts when the big guy asked, "You're the only ones I can ask! Pretty please with sprinkles on top? ...Mmm, sprinkles."

Noah sighed, before saying, "We don't really have a choice, now do we?"

"Seriously," Duncan scoffed, "He's practically holding a gun to our heads. But we'll find that culprit." He smirked, punching his fist into his palm.

"Might as well introduce oursleves," Noah said as he stood up, dusting himself off, "I'm Noah Hayden and this is Duncan Nelson."

He reached forward and shook both Noah and Duncan's hands, "How's it goin'? I'm Owen?"

"Yeah, great," Duncan sarcastically replied before wrenching himself out of Owen's grip, "How are we going to find the culprit in the first place, anyway?"

"I dunno, man," Owen shrugged, "Oh, oh, oh! But I do know where the last person came in!"

"That'd be Heather," Noah mused, "Will you take us there?"

"Of course!" Owen chortled, "Oh, but first, you two should put these on!" He dug in his pants pockets for a second before pulling out two pairs of glasses. He gave one to Duncan and the other to Noah.

"What the hell do we do with these?" Duncan asked.

"Just put 'em on!"

Duncan and Noah stared down at their respective pair of glasses before putting them on. To their surprise, all of the fog seemed to vanish and their vision instantly became much clearer. The difference was like night and day; with the glasses on, the fog didn't even seem to exist.

"Pretty neat, huh?" Owen asked, laughing again, "Alright! Let's head on! You can rely on me! But I can only show you where the place is, you'll have to defend yourselves."

"Wow, you're so reliable," Noah deadpanned, "Thankfully, we've got these. But they're more for show." He rose his golf club to the sky, while Duncan pulled the two wrenches he had in his pockets out.

"Well, I'll give you guys moral support from a safe distance!" Owen heckled, "How does that sound?"

"How lame," Duncan groaned, "_This _is all the backup we get?"

"Yep!" Owen laughed again before remembering, "Hey, can I ask you guys something? Who's this Heather person? Someone you know?"

Duncan scowled and didn't say a word. Noah, however said, "It doesn't matter right now. All that matters is you know she got thrown in here."

Owen shrugged, "Okay, then! Follow me!"

They didn't really have a choice in the matter.

* * *

Owen led them through the world for a few minutes before they finally made it to a place that resembled the shopping district in Muskoka Hills.

"What the hell?" Duncan mouthed, "This place looks just like back home."

"Some weird places have appeared here lately," Owen replied, standing a few feet away from the two humans, "This is where she got thrown in."

"By the way," Noah arched a brow, "Just why are you standing so far away from us? Gonna run off if something happens?"

"O-of course not!" Owen stammered, "I-I just don't wanna get in you guys's way,y-y'know? Heheheh."

Duncan rolled his eyes and looked around the area, "I got just one question. Out of all the places in town, why would they replicate this?"

"I dunno," Owen shrugged, "This is reality for the person who got thrown in."

Noah snarked, "Okay, that made no sense whatsoever."

"But if this is the shopping district, we're not far from Heather's house," Duncan remembered, "C'mon! We might learn somethin'!"

Duncan dashed off, with Owen trailing behind him. Noah stood and watched for a moment, as an uneasy feeling washed over him.

It felt like something was about to go terribly wrong, and he didn't really want to find out what.

He followed after them anyway.

* * *

**Sorry that I didn't have a chapter up yesterday. I had some business I had to attend to. So, I'll be uploading a chapter tomorrow to make up for it. Next time we'll be learning some things about both the TV World and Heather, as well as a certain event happening to Noah. You'll just have to find out tomorrow!**

**Til next time!**


End file.
